Last year's sale of a prominent midtown Atlanta office tower was significant for the buyer and the seller when the deal closed.
The transaction gained significant importance for the new owner just a few months later, when the building's largest tenant renewed its lease through 2040.
In the sale, Spear Street Capital acquired 1100 Peachtree for $133.8 million from Manulife US REIT. The deal was a key component of Manulife's deleveraging and restructuring plan, enabling the Singapore-based firm's repayment of near‑term debt, according to JLL, which represented the seller. Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies provided acquisition debt financing.
The acquisition marked one of the largest real estate transactions in Atlanta in 2025, as the sale price of $228.70 per square foot ranked fifth-highest of the year in Atlanta for an office building measuring at least 100,000 square feet, according to CoStar data. The deal earned a 2026 CoStar Impact Award as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the Atlanta market.
The sale "renewed institutional confidence in well‑located, transit‑oriented office assets," as 1100 Peachtree is a short walk to a MARTA subway station, according to JLL. Spear Street did not use an outside brokerage firm on the acquisition, JLL said.
JLL deployed an "innovative marketing process" that included digital building tours and an online data room that provided real-time analytical data.
Manulife had to move quickly on the sale transaction, due to upcoming debt payment deadlines, JLL said. That, in turn, required Spear Street to accept "near-term leasing risk" and to commit to a multimillion-dollar building renovation.
Spear Street's gamble paid off in January this year. That's when law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, the largest tenant at 1100 Peachtree, extended its lease of about 152,000 square feet, spanning the top seven floors.
About the deal: Manulife US REIT sold a midtown Atlanta office tower for a market-leading price to Spear Street Capital. The building's largest tenant, law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, renewed its lease about seven months later.
What the judges said: "This sale helped investment activity [in Atlanta's central business district] and helped buyers see that Atlanta is still a good investment," said Sara Barnes, research manager at Avison Young.
They made it happen: A three-person team at JLL represented Manulife on the sale: senior managing directors Richard Reid and Michael McDonald, and managing director Huston Green.